Wavin's acquisition targets Scandinavia
ZWOLLE, NETHERLANDS - Plastic pipe systems producer Wavin NV is strengthening its position in the Scandinavian market with the purchase of Norwegian cable duct system supplier Polyfemos AS.
The Alta, Norway, company makes cable ducts for telecommunications networks, employs 20 and had 2006 annual sales of 5 million euros ($6.6 million).
Terms were not disclosed.
The acquisition will add to Wavin's product range and project engineering capacity, and boosts its profile in Scandinavia in what is seen as a fast-growing market segment, the Zwolle-based group said.
Wavin already runs a plant in France, producing microduct-related systems.
New Bright facility adds electric press
Greensboro, N.C. - Bright Plastics Inc. has added its first all-electric injection molding machine to its new, 67,000-square-foot headquarters facility in Greensboro. The Engel E-motion 60-metric-ton press will make small medical and electrical parts.
Vice President Kirk Sparks said the firm decided to go all-electric for the use of green power, low running cost and high precision. The custom injection molder now operates 23 presses with clamping forces of 60-1,100 tons. Four are hybrid machines.
Last year, the company moved from a smaller plant in Greensboro to the newly acquired site and added 12 jobs, bringing its workforce to 82. Bright Plastics focuses mainly on the Southeast, serving medical, defense, municipal waste-handling, consumer products, electrical, plumbing and automotive industries.
The firm's sales have doubled in the past three years, Sparks said, attributing its growth to superior engineering. There are plenty of business opportunities in the local market, he said.
Bright Plastics plans to add 20,000 square feet of manufacturing space, six jobs and two more presses, including at least one more all-electric, in the second half of 2007.
Blue Water decides to keep plant open
MARYSVILLE, MICH. - Blue Water Automotive Systems Inc. will keep open one of three plants earlier set to close this year.
Company officials had told workers at the injection molder's Range Road plant in St. Clair, Mich., in November that it would shut down, along with facilities in Lexington, Mich., and Wauseon, Ohio, in response to slowdowns in the auto industry.
But as other molders struggled through the winter, carmakers and key suppliers moved work to Marysville-based Blue Water from firms that were troubled and shutting down. Early this year, executives had said the increased workload might allow them to cancel closure plans for one of the plants.
Officials were not available to comment, but local St. Clair news reports said Blue Water would continue to operate the Range Road facility. The firm operates a total of three plants in that city.
Equity investor sells Armacell to another
MANAMA, BAHRAIN - Armacell International GmbH, a manufacturer of flexible technical insulation, has been acquired by private equity investor Investcorp for an undisclosed sum.
Munster, Germany-based Armacell had been part of Armstrong World Industries Inc. of Lancaster, Pa., until 2000. It operates 20 plants in 13 countries in Europe, the Americas and Asia.
The sellers also are private equity firms: Gilde Buy Out Partners of Utrecht, the Netherlands, and London-based CVC Capital Partners Ltd.
Armacell reported 2006 sales of 325 million euros ($634 million). Its rubber- and polyethylene-based insulation materials are sold into the heating and plumbing, refrigeration and do-it-yourself wholesale markets.
Investcorp, formed in 1982 in Manama, has more than $10 billion in invested assets.
Yves Alexandre, an Investcorp private equity managing director, said in a news release that Armacell is ``an attractive platform for growth in insulation and technical foams.''
European groups form composites alliance
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - The European Composites Industry Association (EuCIA) has agreed to cooperate with other European plastics trade groups to boost the profile and influence of the composite industry in the region.
An alliance was formed in January between three Brussels-based groups: EuCIA; a processing association, the European Plastics Converters; and the European Association of the Unsaturated Polyester Resins Producers. EuCIA represents about 15,000 composites companies in Europe.
The knot was formally tied by EuCIA President Volker Fritz of Quadrant Plastics Composites AG of Lenzburg, Switzerland; EuPC Managing Director Alexandre Dangis; and Dominique Vincent, UPR president. The officials agree the alliance will ``work together toward stronger European representation of the composites industry.''
The agenda includes influencing European legislation, promoting the industry and education.
